Why Agricultural Biotechnology for Africa?
Issue 6 15 April 2001 – 15 June 2001 Scientific applications for increasing agricultural productivity have done wonders in increasing food supply around the worldincluding Africa where the farm productivity has increased on par with the rest of the world. Nevertheless, 800 million people go to bed daily on an empty stomach, and there are 40,000 hunger-related deaths every day. This silent holocaust is unconscionable, pleads Ismail Serageldin of the World Bank. Mahatma Gandhi, the apostle of peace, called hunger the greatest of all violence. Worldwide, one in three children is underweight, and one in five is stunted due to undernourishment. Nearly 40,000 peoplehalf of them childrendie every day due to hunger related causes. By 2020, the number of undernourished could well surpass 1 billion. In many developing countries, where subsistence farmers eke out meager livings, and the ability to provide enough food for survival is often less than assured, the vital importance of staple crops su
